Beauty Service Market Outlook

Creation of new value in the beauty industry through the convergence of information and communication technologies of the 4th industrial revolution

The U.S. beauty market is the world's largest with an estimated $93 billion in 2019

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US beauty and personal care market is expected to have mixed sales by item. Sales of color, sunscreen and perfume products are expected to decline this year due to lockdowns to prevent the spread of the epidemic, travel restrictions and the shift to telecommuting. On the other hand, the increasing demand for personal hygiene management is leading to an increase in sales of washing products such as soap and hand sanitizer. In addition, sales of skin care products are also expected to be relatively strong due to the spread of self-care trends at home. However, the industry predicts that the large-scale unemployment caused by the pandemic and the contraction in consumption due to the increase in uncertainty in the future will lead to a contraction in the beauty and personal care market.

ICT application and expansion in the beauty market

Compared to the application of various services in other industries, the beauty industry is still unexplored. The fields that can be applied in the ICT skill level survey classification system are wellness care ICT and manufacturing ICT. However, a level survey with a slightly different personality from the actual beauty ICT is being conducted. In addition, most of the research and development of the Ministry of Health and Welfare or the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is focused on developing new drugs or medical devices, and the actual research and development in the beauty (cosmetics) field is dependent on the industry's own research and development. Looking at R&D cases of beauty ICT market application, skin measurement application development accounts for most. There are many applications related to this, exceeding 5,000, but the applications that are actually used are limited.

Currently, the domestic and foreign beauty market is making great efforts not only to develop original cosmetic materials, but also to enhance user convenience and to develop various services suitable for the era of 'personalization'. In particular, since beauty ICT technology is directly related to the sales of cosmetic brands, all companies are focusing their efforts on research and development. Beauty ICT technology based on various technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and big data will create new markets in the future. Efforts to apply ICT technology to the beauty industry, which show a higher growth rate than other industries, will contribute to job creation in related industries as well as to increase exports through high value-added business.

In addition, it is time to change from the position of a pursuer who follows the overseas technology development trend to a position that leads the way by maximizing the advantages of ICT technology and Internet environment superiority compared to competing countries.

First, it should be possible to secure beauty information and analyze user's purchasing behavior and patterns, purchase satisfaction, and product preference.

Second, it is necessary to develop new service technologies by combining virtual reality (AR, VR, MR, etc.) actively developed in the ICT field and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Third, if ICT companies lead the development, unnecessary functions may be loaded and actual consumers may feel fatigued. Therefore, cosmetics-related companies should collaborate with ICT companies to develop technologies that have low consumer fatigue and can be used easily.

Fourth, it is necessary to expand the “customized cosmetics” market, which was newly introduced in 2018.

The global trend has entered the era of ‘personalization’. Using ICT technology, each consumer's unique cosmetics that match the skin characteristics and the environment of the residential area to increase their own 'self-love' value.

This will enable entry into high value-added business. Along with the development of good raw materials, it should be able to provide own cosmetics that reflect the material, color, etc., suitable for individual skin characteristics. If personalized containers and designs using 3D printer technology will be provided, it will have a competitive edge in the global market.

Since the current government is planning to invest heavily in 'big data' technology from 2019, based on this, it will be possible to provide optimized beauty solutions to consumers by accumulating individual skin characteristics into a DB. Based on this accumulated DB, it will be possible to advance into the global market with general-purpose cosmetics as well as personalized cosmetics. Considering the growth potential of the cosmetic-related beauty industry, it is necessary to adopt as a separate field when conducting a survey of ICT classification system and technology level. In addition, it is necessary to acquire competitiveness in the beauty-ICT market based on active R&D support from government-related ministries. Unlike overseas dinosaur enterprise, it is necessary to reflect and respond to the reality that domestic companies, which are relatively small, do not have much room for investment other than the development of cosmetic materials.